Young heterosexual Black men with a history of incarceration living in New York City have high rates of HIV as compared to other groups of heterosexual men. In addition, men recently released from jail/prison have been cited as engaging in high risk sexual behaviors (e.g., multiple partners, transactional sex, substance use), which may place themselves and their partners at risk for HIV infection. The literature has primarily examined sexual risk behaviors and attitudes among men with a history of incarceration and their sexual partners. Social norms from peers, family members and within the neighborhood environment may also be related to sexual risk taking among this population. Thus the proposed qualitative study aims to describe the social norms and interactions among peers, family and neighborhood environment associated with sexual risk taking immediately post release among young heterosexual Black men with a history of incarceration.